FOODGUARD kick-off meeting in Athens | 29-31 January 2024

The FoodGuard project embarked on its journey with the kick-off meeting held in Athens from January 29th to 31st, 2024. About 45 attendees from 19 project partners spanning 11 countries participated in the meeting, engaging in discussions regarding the project objectives, expected outcomes, and forthcoming steps.

The initial day of the meeting established a solid foundation with insightful presentations from the Project Officer and Policy Officer from the European Commission. The Project Officer delivered a comprehensive presentation covering various aspects of project implementation, emphasizing strategies to boost impact and promote open science principles. Concurrently, the Policy Officer introduced the ‘Food 2030 Pathways for Action 2.0’ report, offering EU policy insights pertinent to FOODGUARD and highlighting its alignment with broader regulatory frameworks. At the end of the first day, project management aspects and plans for dissemination, communication and exploitation were discussed, emphasizing the project's commitment to maximizing its impact and reach.

The second day of the meeting delved deeper into the technical aspects of the project, with focused discussions on the different work packages. Each technical work package was presented, and partners actively engaged in dialogue, sharing insights to refine strategies and approaches. 

During the kick-off meeting, the partners collectively discussed the subsequent actions and small group discussions were also organised to further facilitate collaboration and planning for the project’s future endeavours.